Notes / Commercial Description:
Péché Mortel (French for "Mortal Sin") is an intensely black and dense beer with very pronounced roasted flavours. Fair trade coffee is infused during the brewing process, intensifying the bitterness of the beer and giving it a powerful coffee taste. Péché mortel is brewed to be savored; we invite you to drink it in moderation.

This stout style, high in alcohol and bitterness in order to favour preservation, was historically brewed to support the long and arduous voyage necessary to export the beer from England to Russia. The word Imperial comes from the fact that the beer was specially brewed for the Russian tsar’s court.

T - Powerful and up-front with the coffee followed by a pleasing alcohol warmth with an almost smoky chocolate aftertaste.

M - delicious and rich. Very pleasing aftertaste that lingers and lingers.

D - seductively dangerous. The subtlety of the alcohol is hidden by an amazingly powerful balance. Goes down much too easy.

Simply the best beer I've ever had, bar none. This is truly exquisite. Fortunately I have a reason to go to Montreal from time to time - next time I'm going to Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel to hopefully see the magic in action!

More User Reviews:

A mysterious opaque black brew, topped with a coffee colored head which keeps throughout the experience. Aroma can be summed up in one word: espresso. And I'm not just talking about hints of espresso. I'm talking the intensity, roastiness and richness found in ground espresso bean aromas. Hints of chocolate and warm toffee are muted beneath the thick blanket of espresso.

Taste? Absolutely loaded with more intense espresso flavors, and a smoothed in creaminess likened to sweetened milk coffee that lightens / fluffs up the beer's thickness. Roasty / bitter edge. Hints of burnt raisin and dark chocolate. Touch of smoke. Espresso flavors linger for quite some time, requiring a palate cleanser, which I couldn't bring myself to do. I wanted its bliss to linger forever, so I got another sample of it.

The beer's 9% ABV is well-hidden, in a very dark and evil way, the beer's name, which translates to "Mortal sin." And although Dieu du Ciel tags this as an "Imperial Stout" it should really be tagged as an "Espresso Assault," as this is very much a "coffee infused" beer. Man, this beer nailed the essence of espresso and crammed it into a beer. It's amazing that up until this beer, I've yet to taste a beer that has accomplished this at such level of complexity and intensity.

And not only is this the best coffee infused beer that I've ever had, but this is my pick for the best beer at Le Mondial de la bière 2004 de Montrèal. Although I sampled many great beers over the five days, no other beer even came close to standing out as this beer did.

Jean-François Gravel and Dieu du Ciel should be proud of this magnificent creation and example of how infinitely diverse beer can beer.

Yeah, not only did Raul do it, Raul did it well and good.
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Now, the main man himself ain't too knowledgable about anything French - poutine at that - but what Raul became well versed with tonight was Peche Mortel; and if all the homies could, they would scream, 'Oui Copain!' I mean, this thang is poppin' like it was fresh on the Oregon Trail and got lock jaw. Chocolate, coffee... and the 'roasty' flavors are subtle, yet sublime.
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So, like the girl across the counter whom poured Raul his beer; I see you peepin' me girl, and just like Peche Mortel, I like you too.

this beer makes me proud to be Canadian. Incredible nose, the sweetness, the coffee, the chocolate. Unbelievable. A great beer to share with non beer geeks - i guarantee you will blow their minds. I have never met anyone that did not love this beer. Not saying it's the best but it's damn close for me.

Peche Mortel has been one of the more illusive beers for me. A friend who made the trip to Asheville, NC brought this back for me.

Unknowingly, I decanted, er... plopped the beer into the chalice and watched the mousse-like head form to the point that the 12oz. bottle wouldn't fit. As I take the first few sips, the beer never relinquishes the head and leaves multiple rings of lacing behind. The beer is a dark brown-black and opaque as they come. An ideal look.

Very bold aromas of French Roast coffe, nutty-almond-ish scents, as well as cocoa, heavy cream, anise, and a hint of alcohol swirl about the glass. Very appetizing and inviting.

Coffee, cocoa, and roasted malts combine into a well balanced flood of flavor. The beer never favors any one character but the blend of them all give a subtle yet bold balance. Light favors of oats, heavy cream, licorce, and chocolate brownies are a few of the descriptors that make this beer special.

The body is remarkably smooth, silky, and light in comparison to thicker gravity bombs. The coffee bitterness amplifies the grassy-piney hop bitterness and questions whether it is too much for the relatively moderate weight. The beer lightens into a fluid and palatable finish with a linger of coffee and cocoa deep into the aftertaste. Dangerously drinkable for a 9.5%er.

I really appreciate the beer for focusing on the delicacy of flavor instead of the kick-in-the-teeth agression for which more recent Imperial Stouts are acclaimed. Though nothing is wrong with the beer, a more complex fruity character throughout would have made it a solid 5 across the board. Good luck finding a more pleasant drinking experience... with any beer.

Okay. A while back, I rated Founders Breakfast Stout a 100% 5.0.. A beer that I still love and always will.. I've drank a TON of coffee infused beers/stouts.. If I could rate this one a 100%+, 5+, I would.. I love KBS. I love FBS. I love BCBS. I love SMS etc etc..

This beer, without being barrel aged, is (dare I say) the BEST coffee infused beer I have ever tasted. It looks beautiful in a snifter. It smells divine.. And the taste? Full bodied, intense espresso roast, dark fruit.. BOMB!

Get your hands on this one if you can. A Canadian gem of a brewery making one of THE finest imperial stouts you will ever sample..

A: Pitch black with a slight tan collar and minimal head.
S: Sweet roast and malts. A ton of black coffee as well.
T: Lots of black coffee with a tinge of sweetness from the roasted malt.
M: Smooth and velvety.
O: A great stout, but expensive at $10, nearly a $1 an ounce. At that price, you would think it would be BA. So many other stouts, that are more reasonably priced and just as good.

First had 5/10/14 at Black and Blue in Easton. Superb roasted malts, creamy mouth feel with solid chocolate and coffee notes. Truly a sipper, to be savored with almost no sign of the ABV. One of the best brews from the great white north.

Oh my god. 11.5 oz botttled on 3/15. Got this as a freebie and had no idea what I was missing. A huge thanks to @jfletchfaust for this piece of heaven.
Perfect RIS blended with coffee, and they did the coffee right. I can't tell if that slight spice is pepper or coffee but oh my god it's amazing.
This beer is better than BOMB! And I hate to say this better than my go to Speedway.

T: The coffee and toast are there, but aren't overpowering. Chocolate and toffee notes help round out the flavor nicely. There is a slightly bitter coffee aftertaste on the palate, but not an unpleasant one. Alcohol is there but hardly noticeable under the barrage of coffee and toast.

M: Rich, malty and smooth, you usually have some of the frothy head adding to the carbonation of each pull.

O: This is one of my all-time favorite stouts. I can't say enough about it. While the intense coffee smell is daunting to me, the flavors are incredibly well-balanced and the mouth feel is consistently inviting, making this a delicious and dangerous brew at 9.5%. I'm enjoying it at room temp and recommend others try it that way, especially in the colder months.

A - poured into a snifter. Typical dark cola colored stout with a frothy light mocha colored 1/2 inch head. It looks VERY syrupy and sweet leading me to believe it'll have a thick chewy mouthfeel.

S - It smelled stellar as soon as I cracked the beer. Mostly of potent and fresh coffee, which is surprising because this beer is not fresh, nor should it necessarily be fresh. Bringing the glass to the nose I also smell bittersweet chocolate, creamed coffee (or perhaps more of a latte aroma), a faint earthiness reminiscent of a fresh rain or even overturned topsoil, there is a load of tobacco smoke that smells like a room recently inhabited by cigar smokers.

T - Okay. I don't get it. It taste like stale coffee, bakers chocolate, burnt barley, and too many noble hops. How is this top 100? I traded for this? This is founders breakfast stout that was brewed with week old instant coffee in a trailer park brewery.

M - It's dry. It's above average carbonated. It's not terribly full but not thin either. It leaves me letdown from my hopes of what it would be after the pour, but it's not a poor mouthfeel either.

O - I don't get it. Is this just one of the first coffee stouts that was around, and was originally very good for containing it's unique adjunct that it got a great reputation? I've had easily a dozen coffee stouts that are far superior to this. Very unimpressed.

This is a 5. I can't find a thing wrong with it. Aged for sure, but the brewed in year is indeterminate.
Label is quite faded and dating is checked 7, 5. Nose reveals Sumatran coffee, milk chocolate, and
hints of light caramel. Perfectly balanced, these scents become flavors in your mouth that waltz across
the roof of your mouth. The finish doesn't bitter, just more smooth unburned coffee. You'd be
hard pressed to find a better coffee double stout. FBS, which I love, is in the backseat here....

I have had this beer just once, earlier this spring. I was lucky enough to experience it with a nitro draught pour. I can't say what this beer would have been like with all carbonation, but it is sublime with nitro. Mouthfeel is once of the best i've had in a 9% stout. Pretty outstanding beer. I hope to drink more.

World class nose of rich roast, strong coffee, chocolate and a solid malt base with caramel.

Perfectly smooth and creamy full body, but done with an artful brewers light touch. World class carbonation with an effervescent middle and a prickly punch in the finish that tickles the tongue. The carbonation/body balance is a masterpiece.

The flavor profile is high end world class. The balance of this beer is a masterpiece. The complex flavor profile arrives in a blended fashion then slowly separates. The intensity of each flavor is so perfectly balanced that none can dominate, yet all arrive for their moment of glory but never completely fall from the palate. Underneath is a rich malt sweetness that accelerates in intensity and peaks at the finish in a rich caramel blast. The more assertive flavors arrive first (coffee, roast) then taper to the moderate flavors (chocolate, anise). The middle is slightly bitter from roast, coffee and hops plus a touch of char. As the finish approaches, the char aspect fades into smoke like a ghost fading away. The 9% alcohol remains completely covered but gives itself away in the dry finish, which is quite a difficult brewing task. The finish lingers with shifting flavor sensations that encompass the full range of complexity. This is the beer that all stouts should be measured against. It simply, is the best.

Pours black with a one finger head. Lacing persists. Smells awesome. Great coffee smell mixed with sweet chocolate and malt. Tastes the same with great coffee taste and the hops coming through. The bitter finish makes this a wonderful imperial stout. Very smooth and delicious. One of the better ones.

Very black color in nature with a small tan/mocha head and no lacing to speak of. Coffee in the aroma as well as roasted espresso beans. Tastes like a fresh brewed cup of espresso over ice. Bitter coffee up front with roast and char to follow. A warm finish and smooth on the palate. Wonderful coffee stout; the way it should be!

Bottle dated 1/2016:
Pours a deep brown, obviously not but close to black. Head grew medium on a medium soft pour. Supernova of bubbles remain on the surface for a while. Medium ring of tan head also, sheets of lacing.

Nose is a bit light on strong roasted coffee (not sure if 5 months matter). However, the aroma of malts I do get lean towards coffee. There's a nutty roastiness, as well as a hint of chocolate. With warmth, the smell becomes a bit more like a diner coffee - definite coffee aroma, but not a deep profile.

First off, this is a wonderful stout. A nice little bit of char atop a classic dark roasted malt profile. Coffee is detectable but isn't the main component in this pour. I actually get a little chocolate in the taste as well, the net result is more like a lightly flavored mocha.

There is a roasted bitterness that isolated comes off a little hay-like. The beer rolls over the tongue easily, leaving a little charred note at the back of the tongue in rememberence. If I let the beer sit for just a second, it actually seems to add a little silkiness to the feel. Little more than medium boldness, but seems less heavy than that might indicate.

A wonderful stout, for sure. I wish the coffee were a little bolder from a "coffee stout" standpoint, but cannot deny how well made the beer itself is.

The amount of coffee used in this beer has to be immense, as the aromas yield an utmost profound coffee appearance, which wouldn't need the help of any other ingredients to compose a convincing nose. The coffee though gets perfectly balanced by scorched earth and a huge amount of peated, wooden earth. Underneath, there is a well build layer of dark-chocolate, together with a whiff of coffee, coating up the aromas perfectly well.

Has a fantastic, fuller mouthfeel, due to the beers low carbonation and earth supported creaminess, perfectly showcasing the profound coffee flavor.

Tastes of soft whipped-cream, balancing warming, oaky malts, amped up by roasted wood and charred toast. As coffee enters the palate, it instantly defines the whole taste, while the beers foundation still adds up to the taste in all its facetts. Fresh toasted, crushed toffee beans offer up a pleasant, bitter roastiness, together with flowery cocoa powered bakers chocolate. Finishes with silk milk chocolate, and a supportive coffee bitterness, which creates an intense ending, while also allowing subtle flavors of oak, toffee, fudge, coal and chimney fire to remain detectable.

This beer is a real treat, exhibiting a challenging depth of flavors, together with a fantastic mouthfeel. Everything comes incredibly well together, resulting in a simply perfect coffee stout.

Split this among a few friends last night in celebration of the Hockeytown boys winning Lord Stanley's cup.Poured a jet black with a thinner creamy dark tan colored head,aromas obviously had deep dark roast coffee tones mixed with dark fruit and a hint of bitter chocolate.Mas what a silky smooth mouthfeel this is what make a very good beer a great beer no faults to its mouthfeel whatsoever.Flavors are rich but not overly so,smooth dark coffee and dark chocolate like a mocha espresso with a hint of spiced rum in the finish.A fantastic brew to end a fantastic night.